Ship construction



E. P. DU PONT SHIP CONSTRUCTION Sept. 4, 1923.

Filed OGC- 16. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l sem.r 4,y 1923. 1,466,705

E. P. DU PONT' SHIP CONSTRUCTION Filed OCT.. 16. 1922 Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

Y' nrnorrrnnn rAUL 'nu Pour, or MoNfrcHANrN, DELAWARE.

, SHIP CONSTRUCTION.

limitation led October 16, i922.y Serial No. 594,707.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PA-UL DU PONT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montchanin, coun-ty of New Castle, and State of Delaware, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ship Constructions, of which the following is a full, clear, and .enact description, reference being had to the' accompanying drawings, whichx form a part of this specification.

'This invention relates toen improvement 'in hull construction and propeller .sha-ft -con- .nections for auxiliaryl sailing vessels arranged to drawthe propeller within the pla-ne vof the hull when the vessel is to be driven Yby its sails alone.

The object of my invention is to providek aconstruetion which is kso `arranged that when the vessel is driven by propeller, the the porton .of the propeller shaft, its rear or strut bea-ring andthe lines of the hull'will .have .the appearance of a vessel having a shaft ,and propeller mounted in fixed rela- .tion to the .hul-l, and which is also so arranged that theentire shaft, .itsfsu-pp orts and the propeller can be `shifted to a position with-in vthe lines :of t-he hull without .chang the contour of .the hullwhen the propeller and its :sha-ft :are in either position.

This is accomplished by providing the portion yof .the hull over :the portion of the shaft which protrudes `from the hull when the propeller is yfused .for driving, with a movable section, having two faces whose Ycontour is such that when either face is po .sitionedto forma portion of the hull surface -the contour or lines ...of the hull will be unbroken.

shaft .andr :the outer :shaft bearing are so mounted on the movable section that :when

Vwithinthe:planesoffthehull. f ,Y

The precise ynature -fof'zmy :invention will vleest .be understood by reference .to the :azc-

iccmpanying drawings, which .will now be described, it abeing promise-d, however, that various .changes may be made 1n the `details of ,construction and arrangement without departing from .the :spirit Aand scope of-my inventionasdelinedin fthefappended claims. y

- respectively.

v:the axis a' .of :trunnions n and o.

:mountedin va Lbearmg in frame m is a -vertiy Fig. l is. a side elevation of the hull of tion.

F ig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. y

F ig. 3. is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of F ig. 2 of a portion of the hull.

Fig. et is a View, similar to Fig. 3, with the propeller and its shaft within the hull.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the locking means shown in Fig. 2. Y

In ythe drawings, the reference character a designates the vhull of the vessel, which may be formed of any suitable material. ylnthe v form shown in the drawings, the major portion is constructed ofwood.

Mounted in suitable bearings is a main shaft 6, and connected to the main shaft by a yuniversal coupling c is the propeller shaft Z having a propeller e connected tothe outer end thereof. The hull a is provided with ar movable section between the stern post thereof and the coupling c, or at that portion of the hull lunder which the protruding portion of the jpropeller shaft extends and 'vessel equipped with one form of my invenp `front e-nd of this movable section is provided I with afcasting hwhich forms the bearing for .the other end of shaft cl. Connected to the frame :members f and 71. and a second endforming member i are plates and 7c. These plates j and .70" are shaped to conform to the\ lines vof the hull and form continuations of the surface of the hull when properly posi- .tioned relative thereto.

Surrounding the opening in the hull for rvthe movable section at both Iends is a metal Yframe m -which is provided with bearings for trunnions a and 0 on theframe f and 7L, The shaft extends through the trunnion 0 and at an angle to the axis of .trunnionsa and 0. p isa stuiii-ng `box forthe shaft ali-n the trunnion o, and g is a stuffing box for vthe trunni'on o. Connected to the frame m is a water-tight sheet -metal covering s, which is :semi-circular in cross-section and which is concentric with Rotatably .calshaft t having an operation handle .u atene ,end and a locking cam o Vat the other end. The Vcam .o A1s arranged :to :engage grooves in frame to loclr the movable hull section in either of its positions.

w is a handle connected to the outer end of 'trunnion 0 for reversing the position of the movable hull section.

lVhen the vessel is driven by means of the propeller, the parts are in the positions shown in Figs. l, i2- and 3, and in which the plate k forms a portion of the surface of the hull, and as the surface of the plato and frames and ,7L conform to the lines of the hull and ill the opening in the hull, the hull surface will be unbroken. vl/*hen the vessel is under sail and the propeller shaft isy not motor driven, the propeller and its 'shaft are drawn into the planes of the hull to cut down the resistance of passage of the vessel through the water, and is so shown in Fig. l. The propeller is drawn intothe planes of the hull as follows: rfhe shaft is rocked by the handle a to withdraw locking cam o from the slot in frame f, handle w is then rocked to shift the movable section of the hull 1800 about the axis of trunnions et and 0, as shown in Fig. 4, and the movable section of the hull is then locked in its shifted position. l/Vhen the parts are in the position shown in Figi. 4,

the entire length ofthe propeller shaft, the

bearingstherefor, and the propeller are within the planes of the hull, and as the outer surfaces of plate and frame members f and i conform to the lines of the hull, the surface of the hull will be clear of obstructions. Y Y

The advantages of my invention result from the provision of means for supporting a portion of propeller shaft on a movable section of the hull of a vessel, said movable section having' two portions conforming to `the lines or contour of the hull, and which section is so mounted on the hull that when the section is in one position the contour of the hull will be unbroken and partially formed byV one'portion of the Vsaid section, while the propeller will be in driving position, and when shifted to another position the propeller will be drawn within the planes of the hull and the contour of theV hull will be completed by the other portion of said section, whereby I am enabled to provide a properly positioned and mounted propeller for the vessel which can be withdrawn into the hull and at the same time provide a hull having the same contour regardless of whether the propeller is in driving position or within the hull.

Y Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination of a vessel hull and a propeller thereon, said hull having a moveable section with two faces shaped to conform to the contour of the hull, means to secure the section Yto Yalign either face with the hull, means to mount the propeller shaft on the section as to place the propeller in driving position when one face of the section is alignedvwith the hull and to position the propeller and shaft within the hull when the `other face is aligned with the hull, a driving shaft for the propeller shaft, and a flexible connection between the shafts.

2. A boat having a hull with a reversible section with two faces shaped to conform to thle lines of the hull, a propeller shaft, a propeller on said shaft, bearings for supporting said shaft so' as to place the propeller in driving position when one of said faces is aligned with the hull and to position the propeller and the shaft within the hull when the other face is aligned with the hull, and means to secure the section to the h ull when either face is aligned with the hull.

3. A boat having a hull with an opening in the bottom thereof, a closure for said opening, pivotal connections between the closure and the hull arranged to permit the closure to be swung about an axis extending in a longitudinal direction relative to the hull, opposite facesV of the closure being shaped to conform tothe lines of the hull, means to lock the closure in two positions so that when the closure is locked in either position the contour of the hull will be unbroken, a sectional propeller shaft, one section being mounted onV the hull, the other being mounted on the closure, a flexible connection between the shaft sections, the one section of the shaft extending from the hull into the space between the two faces of the closure and through one face thereof, and a propeller on the outer end of the last mentioned section of the shaft.

4. A boat having a hull with an opening in the bottom thereof, a` closure for said opening,y pivotal connections between the closure and the hull arranged to permit the closure to be swung about an axis extending in a., longitudinal direction relative to the hull, opposite faces of the closure being shaped to conform to the lines of the hull, means to lock the closure in two positions so that when the closure is locked in either position the contour of the hull will be unbroken, a sectional propeller shaft, one section being mounted on the hull, the other being mounted on the closure, a flexible connection between the shaft sections, the one section of the shaft extending from the hull into the space between the two faces of the closure and through one face thereof, a propeller on the outer end of the last mentioned section of the shaft, and a water-tight hood within the hull over the opening in the hull.

5. In a boat with a propeller arranged to be drawn within the lines of the vhull and to be positioned in driving position on the exterior of the hull, comprising a hull with a longitudinally extending opening in the bottom thereof7 a. closure for said opening having two counter-part faces shaped vto conforni to the lines of the hull, and so arranged that when either face is in aligned position with the-outerface of the hull'the contour of the hull will be unbroken, a trunnon at each end of the closure, bearings for the trunnions y on the hull, the trunnions and bearings being arranged to permit the cloSure to swing about an axis extending longitudinally of the hull, esectional propeller shaft extending longitudinally of the hull, 2L universal joint between the twoy sections of the shaft, one: of

said sections being rotatably mounted on the hull, the other Section extending through one of the trunnions and one face of the closure, a stuiiing box between the last mentioned trunnion and its bearing, a stufling box for the shaft and the trunnion, a strut bearing for the outer end ofthe shaft connected to the closure, and a propeller on the end of the Shaft. f In testimony yof which invention, I have hereuntoset my hand, et Wilmington7 Delaware, on this 13th day yof October, 1922. ELEUTHERE PAUL vDU PONT. 

